West

Accurate spray targeting in strawberry fields helped by new app

Strawberry growers now have a free smart phone application tool to predict spray coverage to combat such pests as two-spotted spider mites, lygus bugs and leafrollers, thanks to a three-year collaborative project involving UC Davis... more »

E. coli outbreak linked to Salinas, California romaine

FDA, CDC, and state health authorities are investigating an outbreak of illnesses caused by E. coli O157:H7 in the United States. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback evidence indicates that romaine lettuce from the Salinas, California growing region is... more »

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus concerns growers

Growers and officials across the country are watching produce aisles for imported tomatoes with tomato brown rugose fruit virus, or ToBRFV, which they say could disrupt domestic growers of tomatoes and peppers. Although tomato seeds... more »

Organic Grower Summit to feature showing of ‘The Last Harvest’

An exclusive showing of the award winning Driscoll’s documentary The Last Harvest, which shines light on the labor shortage and immigration reform, will be held at the upcoming Organic Grower Summit, followed by an open forum discussion among... more »

Nutrition grant supports incentives at California farmers’ markets, retailers

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has been awarded a Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant of $7,166,877 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund nutrition incentives at Certified Farmers... more »

Tour de Fresh raises $180K for school salad bars

Charity cycling event Tour de Fresh raised more than $180,000 to the United Fresh Start Foundation to provide 51 salad bars to schools. That donation total surpasses the annual amount raised each of five previous years,... more »

$500,000 in seed funding goes to bioplastics startup mobius at AgTech event

Mobius pbc, an early-stage company that creates waste-based biodegradable polymers to promote sustainable agriculture, won the grand prize of a $500,000 equity investment at Western Growers’ 2019 AgSharks Competition Nov. 12. The pitch competition is... more »

Longtime Texas A&M potato breeder Creighton Miller dies

Creighton Miller, Ph.D., at a potato field day on the High Plains. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter) Creighton Miller, Ph.D., plant breeder and professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M... more »